Yahoo – AFP,
Frank Zeller in Berlin and Alice Tidey in London, April 27, 2017
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| Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May accused the 27 other EU member states of lining up against Britain (AFP Photo/Anthony Devlin) |
London
(AFP) - British Prime Minister Theresa May accused the other 27 EU countries of
lining up to oppose Britain over Brexit after Germany's Angela Merkel said the
UK should have no "illusions" over the exit process.
"A
third-party state will not have the same rights or even superior rights to a
member state," the German chancellor told parliament two days before a key
summit in Brussels.
"This
may sound self-evident, but I have to say this clearly because some in Britain
seem to have illusions on this point," she said. "That would be a
waste of time."
Later in
the day, May accused the 27 other EU member states of lining up against
Britain.
"Our
opponents are already seeking to disrupt those negotiations –- at the same time
as 27 other European countries line up to oppose us," May told a campaign
rally in Leeds, northern England.
"That
approach can only mean one thing -– uncertainty and instability, bringing grave
risk to our growing economy with higher taxes, fewer jobs, more waste and more
debt."
The British
leader is currently campaigning after calling a snap election on June 8, hoping
to shore up her mandate ahead of two years of gruelling negotiations.
The leaders
of the other 27 EU nations have stressed a united stance as they plan to meet
Saturday to set down the bloc's "red lines" -- although the talks
will not begin until June, after Britain's election.
"The
negotiations will be very demanding, without a doubt," said Merkel, the
leader of the biggest EU economy.
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Brexit
regrets (AFP Photo/Gillian HANDYSIDE, Kun TIAN)
|
Finance
question
The EU has
toughened its strategy, making new demands over financial services, immigration
and the bills Britain must settle before ending its 44-year-old membership of
the bloc.
Britain
could be required to give EU citizens permanent residency after living there
for five years, in a challenge for May's Conservative government, which has vowed
to limit immigration.
The EU's
latest draft negotiating guidelines, agreed on Monday, seek to ensure Britain
does not get a better deal outside the bloc than inside.
According
to the document seen by AFP, the other EU countries will seek to hold Britain
liable for the bloc's costs for at least a year after it leaves in 2019 --
longer than was previously proposed.
Merkel said
that talks from the very start must include Britain's financial obligations,
including after Brexit.
She said
these issues must be resolved first in a "satisfactory" way before
negotiations turn to Britain's future relations with the bloc -- a sequence
Merkel called "irreversible".
"Without
progress on the many open questions regarding the exit, including the financial
questions, it doesn't make sense to hold parallel talks on the details of a
future relationship," she said.
'Spirit
of unity'
May, after
starting the Article 50 process of leaving the EU last month, is seeking to
shore up her mandate for the Brexit talks in a snap election on June 8.
Polls
suggest her Conservatives will return with an increased majority.
 |
A
third-party state will not have the same rights or even superior rights to a
member state," German Chancellor Angela Merkel told parliament (AFP
Photo/Odd ANDERSEN)
|
A new
survey, by YouGov for The Times newspaper, meanwhile for the first time
signalled more people now believe the Brexit vote was a mistake, by a 45-43
percent margin.
May hosted
a working dinner on Wednesday with key EU Brexit negotiators, including European
Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker.
EU
ministers met in Luxembourg on Thursday to prepare the ground work for
Saturday's meeting.
"It
seems that at the moment we are completely united on everything," said
Maltese Vice Premier Louis Grech, whose country holds the rotating presidency
of the EU.
"Naturally
we have to protect the EU's interests."
He said a
prime objective was "to ensure that we will conduct the negotiations in a
spirit of unity and trust between the 27".
May has
committed to pulling Britain out of Europe's single market to end free movement
of EU citizens into Britain.
Earlier
this week, a German senior finance official rejected this demand, in an
interview with AFP.
"What
won't work is having access to the internal market without freedom of
movement" for EU citizens, said Jens Spahn, state secretary at the finance
ministry.
"Or
access for UK financial institutions to the European financial market if at the
same time there is rampant deregulation in London.
"You
can have either one thing, or the other. These things must be clarified."
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